Refining interests defined busy school year

“What did your senior year mean to you?” Four high school seniors from Hood River County will write about this question between now and graduation day in “View from ‘02” First up is Sarah Fix who worked as a news intern this year. Sarah and her classmates will graduate June 7. — Editor

By SARAH FIX

News intern

How the times can change in just the few years of high school. As an underclassman, I saw myself as that overachiever; graduating from high school with 32 credits (four years of eight classes each) and never having an offsite class because I would be to busy taking all the hard classes. I was also determined that I was going to be a scientist when I graduated college.

Now as school goes by, and my senior year is almost up (ranking in the top fifth in my class and am scheduled to graduate with 32.5 credits and three English college credits), I know that not all of my future plans are going to turn out the way I initially thought.

Starting my last year of public schooling, I only had to take one credit of English to receive my diploma, leaving open seven classes. I had planned to take as many college level courses as I could, but my priorities altered. People always asked me why I didn’t graduate early, but my answer is the same then as it is now; I don’t feel I’m college ready.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m going to college because I know if I don’t start right away, I never will. But school life changed for me in my junior year — I got involved.

Now, I don’t mean I all of a sudden started yelling “Go Eagles!” or “attitude check!” down the hall every two seconds, but my heart set on things that I had never imagined that I would enjoy or have any interest in, two classes especially: theatre and journalism.

Both courses took a dramatic turn in my life last year. In my journalism class, I started off this past year by taking the position as the business manager and learned the role of a section editor. Later, I was deemed Editor in Chief of The Talon, the high school newspaper, and will continue the responsibility until my final high school days.

My fascination with the theatre arts was with what happened outside of class; the productions and technical work. The first significant work was when I earned the position of stage manager for the production of Inherit the Wind, and it went all up hill from there. I continued as stage manager for three more shows, and have also worked as light and sound operator, light and set designer, created both sets and props, as well as directed Cross Purposes in this year’s One-Act Festival. Today, I am the Drama Club President, and have received the Star Technician award.

Overall, my senior year was not a typical one, and I’m am glad for it. I could not have had a better year. People always made fun of my “hard” class schedule of one real class (Writing 121-123), but between my interests, I was always working on some project for either the theatre or The Talon and continue still (cleaning the out the prop/set area in the theatre and putting together three newspapers at once).

What a wild ride. After I take my turn down the graduating aisle, I plan on spending my last high school summer with my friends before we travel in different directions. My objective for this next year is to experience dorm life in Eugene at the University of Oregon, where I plan on continuing my education in the fields of the theatre arts, journalism, and Spanish.